Call Mr. Fortune (1920)
My review:
The first Mr. Fortune collection, the stories in this collection include:
"The Archduke's Tea": The first story to feature Mr. Fortune, who runs over a man in his car--only to find, same like Agatha Christie's The Seven Dials Mystery (1929), he is already dead. Investigations focus on a Balkan prince whose wife and brother stand to gain by his death. Mr. Fortune's solution to the solution is first-class, and the whole promises well for a career of crime.
"The Sleeping Companion": Mr. Fortune is still practising medicine, and investigates when a patient of his, a well-known comedienne, is brutally murdered, her companion drugged. Some good clues.
"The Nice Girl": A slightly muddled story of mining, Enoch Arden, and murder.
"The Efficient Assassin": One of the best stories of this collection, this gem (to mix metaphors in a uniquely horrible manner) crackles with tension from beginning to end, features two excellent murders, and a well-worked plot. Mr. Fortune actively detects, and the whole is pleasure.
"The Hottentot Venus": The first of the comedies-of-manners, this story begins at an exclusive school run by Lomas' sister, and involves the matchmaking machinations of a Balkan prince. Some nice ship scenes, and some good humour.
"The Business Minister": A variation on E.C. Bentley's Trent's Last Case (1913), which was in turn a variation on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Problem of Thor Bridge", but still well worth the read: characterisation excellent, in particular the victim, and the drug trade is nicely involved.